Eye Shadow -MAC - Plumage - Matte e/s
katlynel 7/12/2004 11:24:00 AM
I didn't even try this in the crease because matte shadows don't work for me there. However, this is gorgeous as a liner, on its own or used over the top of a navy liner like Navy Stain to set and blend it. Goes nicely with brown eyes, subtle enough to work during the daytime but special enough for night.
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Palettes -MAC - Denim Dish 1
katlynel 7/12/2004 11:21:00 AM
I just don't know what to make of this quad. The colors all strike me as sort of strange and muddy. In theory it should be a nice little palette for doing a neutral daytime eye or a nighttime smokey eye ... it just doesn't seem to suit me for some reason. The usual great MAC texture and pigment.
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Cleansers -Zapzyt - zapzyt cleanser
katlynel 7/12/2004 10:47:00 AM
I like this cleanser a lot. Unlike other acne cleansers I've used (Neutrogena Acne Wash, I'm looking at you), this one doesn't take thousands of splashes to rinse off, it doesn't feel drying, and it doesn't smell like antibacterial hand soap. And unlike the vast majority of drugstore cleansers, it doesn't contain sodium lauryl/eth sulfate (which is a harsh detergent that can aggravate acne). I'm never sure how much difference BHA in a cleanser actually makes, but I certainly have no complaints, and the price is right ($4.99 at Ulta).
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Masks -Queen Helene - Mint Julep Masque
katlynel 7/9/2004 10:58:00 AM
I wanted to love this after the raves and the ingredients (mmm sulfur), but after a while of using it I was forced to conclude that it made absolutely no difference to my skin, either the blackheads on my nose or the zits on my forehead. However, my boyfriend wanted to try it (!) and adored it, saying it shrank his blackheads and made his skin feel awesome. I guess YMMV.
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CD/Books/Movies -Kevyn Aucoin - Book- Making Faces
katlynel 7/8/2004 2:28:00 PM
This book was incredibly frustrating for me. Yes, the makeovers are beautiful. But as stated by mollypocket, a lot of the photographs are completely worthless -- they're in profile, or they're black and white, or they're soft-focus. There's almost no advice on how to choose a quality makeup product. Most frustrating for me was the fact that the breakdowns on the photographs are egregiously incomplete -- in the Lisa Marie Presley ponytail photo, for example, she's obviously wearing a dark eyeshadow in the crease but there's no crease color mentioned, and in the Trish Goff colored eyeshadow photo she's wearing multiple shades of shadow even though it only says she's wearing one.
The other thing that drove me nuts about this book is that almost every single eye shadow look is achieved exclusively with black, white, grey, or brown eyeshadow. I hate basic neutrals. I wanted to be shown how to do interesting looks with some colors -- plums, blues, olives? -- and there are literally only three photos in the whole book that have colored eyeshadow. Finally, it really aggravated me that everyone has flawless skin despite the claims that minimal or no foundation is used. What I do like about this book is the application techniques (instead of just products) and the stellar contouring photo. I also really appreciate the obvious effort made to include women of color. Conclusion: good for the makeup novice, but there's virtually nothing in here you can't get by perusing the makeup board here.
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Polishes -OPI - Euro-mazing!
katlynel 7/7/2004 12:25:00 PM
*looks down* wow, I hate it when people mean to give something top marks so they give it 1 lippie. Anyway, Euro-mazing is a fire-bright red-orange with lots of pearlescent orange shimmer. Not for the faint of heart, this is a great summer shade that lives up to the OPI reputation.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Pigment in Tan
katlynel 7/7/2004 12:21:00 PM
Tan is a staple of mine. As another reviewer said, this is what I thought Melon would look like, a nude-y mixture of peach, pink, and brown. I like to dust this over my eyes after I've done my eyeshadow to give it a nude glimmer. I can also mix it into matte shadows to de-matte them -- Tan adds a gorgeous luster to a matte shadow while slightly lightening the shade. I've also been known to use it as a light allover shimmer and on my lips mixed with a clear gloss. I would repurchase, but I can't see myself ever running out of this.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Shale Eyeshadow
katlynel 7/7/2004 12:16:00 PM
Shale is the cool-neutral cousin to Trax, substituting a grey undertone instead of Trax's reddish tones, also less shimmery than Trax. Shale looks fantastic in the crease, a much more special look than a standard brown or grey without looking at all unnatural. I like it in the crease and outer third with Vex on the inner 2/3 and on browbone and inner corner. Pigmented, soft, and blendable like all MAC shadows.
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Eye Shadow -MAC - Ricepaper Eyeshadow
katlynel 7/7/2004 12:12:00 PM
Ricepaper is a pretty, shimmery yellowish shade, not quite bright enough to have much of a highlighting effect. If you want a warm or golden look, this is good for that. I would not repurchase because I have a ton of highlighting shades and this one just isn't a standout for me because I'm leaning more toward true neutrals at the moment, but that doesn't mean it isn't a pretty shade.
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Blush -MAC - Satin Blush - Well Dressed
katlynel 7/7/2004 12:09:00 PM
This cotton candy pink, slightly shimmery, sheer blush just will NOT show on my NC25 skin. Every once in a while, that's the effect I want -- if I'm in a hurry and want to add a quick glow, or if I want to set a cream blush and make it last without changing the color significantly. I'll use this up, but I wouldn't repurchase.
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Lipstick -MAC - Lustre in Hug Me
katlynel 7/7/2004 11:54:00 AM
Hug Me is a very classy, natural looking YLBB peachy-pink nude. A really pretty, versatile staple. I don't find the lasting power as good as some of the other MAC lipsticks, but it's so pretty I don't mind reapplying.
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Lipstick -MAC - Lipstick in Lame
katlynel 7/7/2004 11:51:00 AM
Oh my oh my oh my. I want to marry this lipstick. If I can't marry it, can I wear it at my wedding? As other reviewers have said, this is a neutral nude-y rose, slightly browned with very subtle gold shimmer. It's a fantastic classy look, not too dark but with more color than a normal nude. I'd wear this anywhere and everywhere ... I think if I could only have one lipstick for the rest of my life, it'd be this one. I wear this over Subculture lipliner and it stays on forever.
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Concealers -MAC - Select Cover Up Color Corrector Peach
katlynel 7/7/2004 11:45:00 AM
I quite approve of this stuff. It looks really odd as it goes on, but it somehow makes my blemishes and undereye circles disappear. When I bought this, the SA blended it on a little palette with my matching Studio Finish pot concealer, but I typically just layer the two as needed. Its staying power is really good, much better than the pot concealer. I also like this for a subtle highlighting effect.
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Concealers -MAC - Studio Finish Concealer
katlynel 7/7/2004 11:43:00 AM
I chose MAC's Studio Finish pot concealer because it seemed most conducive to my preferred brush application, and it's SPF35. I like to use this around my eyes due to the extra sunscreen. This gives decent coverage and comes in a wide range of colors. It does tend to slip and crease over the course of the day, though. I can't quite get it to completely cover whatever I want to cover -- I have to blend it with the peach Select Cover Up for that. The color range is incomplete, as I'd really like it if it came in NC25. Additionally, I'm realizing that I break out from chemical sunscreens.
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Lipstick -MAC - Lipstick in Siss
katlynel 7/2/2004 12:37:00 PM
Siss is a nude in the sense of nude skin, not nude lips -- it's about the shade of a MMM-toned foundation. I have not quite figured out why it is desirable to have one's lips look like skin, but if/when I do, Siss will be the shade I use for the look. Same great texture and wear you'd expect from a MAC lipstick. Would work well for the "coffee makeup" look as seen in the August ELLE.
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